Page:Statius (Mozley 1928) v1.djvu/195

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SILVAE, III. ii.. 2–28

ships, and to assuage the angry perils of the gusty sea, make the waters smooth and calm, and listen in peaceful council to my entreaties, and let the waves be gentle nor make uproar as I pray: “Great and rare, O Neptune, is the pledge I commit unto thy deep; young Maecius is entrusted to the doubtful main, and is about to take across the seas the dearer half of my soul. Bring forth your favouring stars, Oebalian[1] brethren, and sit upon the twin horns of the yard-arm; let your light illumine sea and sky; drive far away, I pray, your Ilian sister’s tempestuous star,[2] and banish her wholly from the heavens. And ye too, Nereids, sea-blue horde of ocean, to whom the glory and the fortune of the second realm have fallen by lot—suffer me to call you stars of the mighty deep!—arise from the glassy caverns of foam-encompassed Doris, and in peaceful rivalry swim round the bays of Baiae and the shores where the hot springs abound;[3] seek out the lofty ship whereon Celer, noble offspring of Ausonia mighty in arms, rejoices to embark. Nor need ye long inquire, for lately came she across the seas, the first a her convoy, to the Dicarchean strand, laden with the Pharian[4] harvest, and first was she to salute Capreae, and over her starboard side to pour libation of Mareotic wine to Tyrrhene Minerva.[5] Circle gracefully about her on either side, and divide your duties: some stretch taut from the mast the hempen rigging, some set the topsails and spread the canvas to the Zephyrs; let others place the benches, or let down into the water

  1. ↑ Spartan, from Oebalus, king of Sparta; i.e., Castor and Pollux.
  2. ↑ The star of Helen was considered dangerous to ships, cf. Theb. vii. 792.
  3. ↑ The reference is to the warm springs of Baiae, cf. iii. 5. 96, v. 3. 170.
  4. ↑ i.e., of Egypt, so also “Mareotic.”
  5. ↑ Cf. note on ii. 2. 2.

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